BOISE -- The death of a University of Idaho senior due to apparent alcohol poisoning is raising questions as to what's being done to protect students from these alcohol related incidents.
“We are grieving deeply with this family and have great concern for Ben's friends,” said University of Idaho Dean of Students Bruce Pitman.
The campus of the University of Idaho is still in mourning Wednesday after learning of the death of Benjamin Harris. Harris is the second student at the university to die because of alcohol poisoning in the past two years. The university says they have alcohol education programs at the school, but more may be done.
“Certainly there may be another thing or two that we might be able to do, but I think we need to step back from this a bit and try to understand how we might be able to impact behavior that takes place off campus,” said Pitman.
“Sadly enough binge drinking is a problem everywhere,” said Boise Police Officer Jermaine Galloway.
Galloway patrols the area near Boise State University. He says the Boise Police Department is seeing a decrease in drinking involved incidents, and he credits education for that drop.
“The education is very important, some people are very receptive to it,” said Galloway.
“Education is imperative,” agrees Jennifer Summers, a BSU health educator. “We aim to promote responsible drinking behaviors around alcohol; this is included with awareness, education and trying to increase compliance when it comes to campus policies as well as state and federal law.”
Meanwhile, the University of Idaho is hoping the programs they have set will help future students.
“We're going to continue our aggressive alcohol education programs that are certainly already embedded in new student orientation and our campus leadership programs,” said Pitman.
Binge drinking is classified as five drinks for a man within an hour or four drinks for a woman within an hour.
Both the University of Idaho and Boise State University have multiple programs in place including a ‘21 Be Safe’ program where a birthday card is sent out reminding students to celebrate responsibly.
KTVB also talked with a doctor about binge drinking. She says drinking alcohol in excess can cause multiple problems with the body, but most importantly if you suspect alcohol poisoning -- seek help.
“I don't know if folks worry about getting into trouble, but that really should be the last thing that should be on anyone’s mind and the first thing is safety and if you're with someone that you think maybe impaired you need to make sure they're safe,” said Dr. Patrice Burgess with St. Alphonsus.
